Mumbai, Sept. 11 -- The headline equity indices traded with moderate gains in the afternoon trade amid positive global cues. Investor sentiment stayed buoyant on hopes of easing India-U.S. diplomatic tensions and rate-cut expectations from the U.S. Federal Reserve next week. The Nifty traded above the 25,000 level.

Oil & gas, media and PSU Bank shares advanced, while IT, auto and realty shares corrected.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 147.27 points or 0.18% to 81,573.58. The Nifty 50 index rose 29.10 points or 0.13% to 25,003.40.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.04% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.02%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE 2,109 shares rose and 1,903 s...